Here's how a typical conversation with my two nephews in my car normally goes.
Me (enthusiastic)– Did you find that book you were looking for?
Nephew 1 – What?
Me – patiently repeats question.
Nephew 1 – no.
Me (irritated) – Do you boys want to go to the bookshop later?
Nephew 2 – What?
Me (striving to be a patient aunt) – Didn’t you hear what I just said?
Nephew 2 – Whaaat?
Me (bent on revenge) – What what what?
Nephew 1 – Huh? What what?
Me (totally fed up) –The What Boys strike again.
I swear that this is the typical conversation with my Malaysian primary and secondary school going nephews. When you’re in a car with them, all you hear are the “whats” ricocheting off the walls, till I want to stop the car, turn around and strangle the two “what-ers” .
What’s more exasperating is that this also the typical scene in many a Malaysian office. Listen carefully to conversations and you will find the ubiquitous what used to:
1. respond to questions asked of them
2. show emotions from mild surprise to unbelievable shock
3. imply that they did not catch what the person was saying
4. last but not least, ask a question
Yes, yes, language evolves. Having said that I can only say that this particular misuse is our own Manglish practice that is butchering the language into a million miniscule parts that can never be reassembled again.
So, take note of the following (be warned - I’m going to go into school teacher mode here). When you would like someone to repeat what they had said, here’s what to do:
1. Say - Could you please repeat that?
2. Say- I’m sorry I didn’t catch that.
3. Say - I beg your pardon?
4. Simply rephrase what the person had said and end it with a “Did I get that right?”
5. Repeat the statement. End the last word with a raising tone to indicate you are not sure what the person had said. e.g. “There will be a meeting on Monday?”
To show shock, use other expressions such as:
a. Really? I can’t believe it.
b. Is that true?
c. Wow!
d. Imagine that!
I say it again – listen carefully because that’s the key to improvement. Listen to others and yourself. Count the number of times you use this wh-word. On tallying up the total you will realize that you’ve been using “what” for uses that it was never meant for.
It is time to stop it, not just because it’s painful for my ears, but because it really does not help to impress when you work in an international setting.
What do you say to that?
